The job market in upstate New York is growing at the top and at the bottom, according to a new study by two Federal Reserve economists. Meanwhile, those in so-called "lower-middle skills jobs" are seeing fewer opportunities as technology and globalization displace them.

Highly skilled workers — lawyers, scientists, engineers and doctors — have seen their share of the job market increase to 23.6 percent in 2010 from 18.6 percent in 1980.

They also earn more than $50,000 a year.

Those in the lowest-skilled positions also saw a larger share, to 15.9 percent from 13.4 percent, although they typically make $20,000 or less annually. Those in upper-middle skills — teachers, construction workers, precision production workers — saw their share increase to 23.0 percent from 21.7 percent. They typically earn $30,000 to $40,000 annually, the Fed economists said.

But those in lower-middle skilled jobs — salespeople, machine operators, administrative support — lost ground, many displaced by technology and others by overseas competition.

While the study would seem to be inconsistent with manufacturers' claims that they can't find enough machinists, one of the study's authors, Federal Reserve Bank of New York Assistant Vice President Richard Deitz, said it's "a supply and demand issue."

"We looked out over the past 30 years," he said. "There are certainly far fewer jobs now in manufacturing ... than 10 or 20 years ago."

While the number of manufacturing jobs is up over the past year in the Capital Region, it's still down 5.2 percent over the past 10 years, according to the state Labor Department.

Within the manufacturing sector, the demand for highly skilled machinists and other workers has outpaced the supply. Lower-skilled manufacturing workers, meanwhile, are seeing more displacement than higher-skilled workers, he said.

"People with more skills are in higher demand" even as the overall sector shrinks, Deitz said.

"It really demonstrates our focus on retraining the tradespeople for new jobs," said F. Michael Tucker, president and CEO of the Albany-based Center for Economic Growth. "The community colleges are training people for jobs for advanced technology companies like General Electric and GlobalFoundries."

Tucker said the growth of high-tech manufacturing in the Capital Region has boosted the number of middle-skill jobs here, albeit ones that require advanced training.

This region, he said, may be a bit different from other areas of upstate in that regard.

But Tucker also expressed concerns over the growing polarization the study identified.

"As our region grows, we have to guard against growing inequality in education, income, and the social arena," he said.